The DART Orange Line brings new access to employment and educational opportunities, most notably in the master-planned community of Las Colinas. For the thousands of employees who commute in and out of Irving daily, the Orange Line offers fresh alternatives to driving. The highly anticipated arrival of DART Rail has spurred construction of luxury apartment communities throughout the Urban Center, with more than 7,000 units existing or planned, and several transit-oriented developments are in the works.
The first 4.5-mile section of the 14-mile, $1.3 billion project has stops at the University of Dallas, the Las Colinas Urban Center and the Irving Convention Center. The arrival of light rail culminates more than 12 years of land-use planning by DART, the city of Irving, the Las Colinas Association and the Dallas County Utilities Reclamation District.
On Dec. 3, DART opens the second phase to North Lake College and Belt Line Road. At Belt Line Station, buses will meet trains to take passengers to and from DFW International Airport. The DFW Station is scheduled to open in 2014, connecting downtown Dallas to one of the nation’s busiest airports.
“With the opening of the Orange Line, thousands of people now can reach one of the region’s densest employment centers via public transit,” DART President/Executive Director Gary Thomas said. “That makes it easier for people to not only find jobs, but also pursue careers.”
Irving is the only city in the service area – other than Dallas – to have both light and commuter rail service. The Trinity Railway Express has operated in South Irving since December 1996 along the right of way of the Rock Island Railway, where the city was founded in the early 1900s.
